The Amazing Race 2 is the second season of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured eleven teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, competing in a race around the world. This season visited five continents and eight countries, traveling approximately over thirteen legs. Filming took place from January 7 to February 3, 2002. Starting in Pahrump, Nevada, racers traveled through Brazil, South Africa, Namibia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand, before returning to the United States, traveling through Hawaii and Alaska, and finishing in the San Francisco Bay Area. The season premiered on CBS on March 11, 2002, and concluded on May 15, 2002.
Lifelong friends Chris Luca and Alex Boylan were the winners of this season, while estranged couple Tara Lynch and Wil Steger finished in second place, and siblings Blake and Paige Mycoskie finished in third place.
Format
The Amazing Race is a reality television show created by Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri, and hosted by Phil Keoghan. The series follows teams of two competing in a race around the world. Each leg of the race requires teams to deduce clues, navigate foreign environments, interact with locals, perform physical and mental challenges, and travel on a limited budget provided by the show. At each stop during the leg, teams receive clues inside sealed envelopes, which fall into one of these categories: Route Info: These are simple instructions that teams must follow before they can receive their next clue. Detour: A Detour is a choice between two tasks. Teams may choose either task and switch tasks if they find one option too difficult. There is usually one Detour present on each leg. Roadblock: A Roadblock is a task that only one team member can complete. Teams must choose which member will complete the task based on a brief clue they receive before fully learning the details of the task. There is usually one Roadblock present on each leg. Fast Forward: A Fast Forward is a task that only one team may complete, which allows that team to skip all remaining tasks on the leg and go directly to the next Pit Stop. Teams may only claim one Fast Forward during the entire race. Most teams that arrive last at the Pit Stop of each leg are progressively eliminated, while the first team to arrive at the finish line in the final episode wins the grand prize of US$1,000,000.
Production
The second season of The Amazing Race traveled 52,000 miles, spanning five continents and eight countries. Casting for the second season began during the summer of 2001, before the first season premiered. Casting finals were taking place in Los Angeles in September during the September 11 attacks. Location scouting took place during September 2001, but was paused for a month and a half following the September 11 attacks. Legs in Europe were excluded this season due to fears about subsequent attacks, and connecting flights through countries including India, Israel, and Nigeria were prohibited. Producers had also planned a leg in Argentina during pre-production, but cancelled it due to Argentina's political instability after its economy failed. Filming originally scheduled for fall 2001, was postponed to between January 7, 2002, and February 3, 2002 due to the September 11 attacks. Teams raced through eight countries, six of which were new to the series: Brazil, South Africa, Namibia, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand.
The edition marked the debut of several show traditions. The color scheme for all route markers and flags was changed to yellow and red after the previous season's yellow and white. In addition, host Phil Keoghan and a local greeter welcomed all teams arriving at the Pit Stops at the end of each leg. Previously, Keoghan had appeared only to greet the last-place teams. Teams were also required to read their clues out loud on camera; this was optional for teams in the previous season.
Contestants
Eleven teams participated in the second season of The Amazing Race. Contestants Age Relationship Hometown Status 51 Mother & Daughter Miami, Florida Eliminated 1st(in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) 23 Brooklyn, New York 38 Married Parents Clinton, Tennessee Eliminated 2nd(in Iguaçu National Park, Brazil) 39 63 Grandmothers Truckee, California Eliminated 3rd(in Stellenbosch, South Africa) 65 Los Gatos, California 27 Twins Albany, New York Eliminated 4th(in Khomas Region, Namibia) 27 45 Pastors & Married Parents Brainerd, Minnesota Eliminated 5th(in Amphawa, Thailand) 46 38 Sisters Sunbury, Pennsylvania Eliminated 6th(in Hong Kong) 33 Paxinos, Pennsylvania 33 Former Roommates New York City, New York Eliminated 7th(in Breakaways National Park, Australia) 28 Brooklyn, New York 31 Best Friends Miami, Florida Eliminated 8th(in Auckland, New Zealand) 36 25 Brother & Sister Nashville, Tennessee Third place 21 Arlington, Texas 31 Separated Couple Los Angeles, California Runners-up 37 25 Lifelong Friends Boston, Massachusetts Winners 24 Future appearances Oswald & Danny were selected to race in The Amazing Race: All-Stars.
Alex Boylan went on to create and host the first season of the WGN America online reality show Around the World for Free, in which he journeyed around the world with no money, relying on the generosity and hospitality of locals. Blake Mycoskie appeared as a guest shark during the twelfth season of Shark Tank.
Results The following teams are listed with their placements in each leg. Placements are listed in finishing order. A placement with a dagger () indicates that the team was eliminated. An placement with a double-dagger () indicates that the team was the last to arrive at a Pit Stop in a non-elimination leg. A indicates that the team won the Fast Forward. +Team placement (by leg) Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Chris & Alex6th2nd7th7th1st2nd2nd1st3rd3rd1st Tara & Wil1st3rd2nd2nd3rd5th3rd4th3rd2nd1st1st2nd Blake & Paige4th9th5th4th4th3rd5th2nd1st2nd1st3rd Oswald & Danny8th7th1st1st6th4th4th1st4th Gary & Dave9th5th3rd3rd5th2nd1st3rd Mary & Peach7th4th4th5th2nd1st Cyndi & Russell2nd6th8th6th Shola & Doyin3rd1st5th Peggy & Claire10th8th Hope & Norm4th Deidre & Hillary Notes
Race summary
Leg 1 (United States → Brazil)
Episode 1: "The World Is Waiting: Go!" (March 11, 2002) Prize: A vacation to Hawaii (awarded to Tara and Wil) Eliminated: Deidre and Hillary Locations Pahrump, Nevada (Pahrump Valley) (Starting Line) Las Vegas → Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rio de Janeiro (Corcovado Mountain – Christ the Redeemer) Rio de Janeiro → Paquetá Island Paquetá Island (Fat Maria) Paquetá Island (Lido Hotel – Ilha Tours) Paquetá Island → Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro (Sugarloaf Mountain) Rio de Janeiro (Sugarloaf Mountain Ipanema Beach) Rio de Janeiro (Urca Beach → Guanabara Bay – Tocorimé) Episode summary From Pahrump, Nevada, teams were instructed to fly to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Once there, teams had to climb to the top of Corcovado Mountain, where they found their next clue at the base of Christ the Redeemer. Teams had to travel to Paquetá Island, where they had to find a big tree known as Fat Maria and kiss the tree to receive their next clue. Teams then traveled to the Lido Hotel, where they had to sign up for one of four boats returning to the mainland the next morning. Teams spent the night on the island and traveled to Sugarloaf Mountain, where they found their next clue the next morning. This season's first Detour was a choice between Mountain and Beach. In Mountain, teams had to rappel down the face of Sugarloaf Mountain to receive their next clue. In Beach, teams had to take the gondola back down and go to Ipanema Beach to find Heloísa Pinheiro, the woman who inspired the song "The Girl from Ipanema", who gave them their next clue. After the Detour, teams had to check in at the Pit Stop aboard the Tocorimé, a yacht in Guanabara Bay.
Leg 2 (Brazil)
Episode 2: "Help Me, I'm American!" (March 13, 2002) Eliminated: Hope and Norm Locations Rio de Janeiro (Guanabara Bay – Tocorimé) Rio de Janeiro (Barra da Tijuca – Acadêmicos da Barra da Tijuca) Rio de Janeiro (Copacabana Beach) Rio de Janeiro (Pedra Bonita) Rio de Janeiro (São Conrado Beach) Rio de Janeiro → Foz do Iguaçu Iguaçu National Park (Iguaçu Falls – Macuco Safari Dock) Iguaçu National Park (Trilha das Bananeiras – Jungle Camp) Episode summary At the start of this leg, teams returned to Urca Beach and then traveled by taxi to Acadêmicos da Barra da Tijuca. In their clue, teams had also received a red feather, which they had to match to one of the dancers' headdresses in the club. Once they found the correct dancer, she gave teams their next clue. This leg's Fast Forward required teams to travel to Copacabana Beach and play volleyball against a local team. While racers were allowed to use their hands, the local team could only use their feet. Shola and Doyin won the Fast Forward. Teams who did not attempt the Fast Forward had to travel to Pedra Bonita to find their next clue. This leg's Detour was a choice between Freak Out and Seek Out. In Freak Out, teams had to hang glide in tandem with an instructor from the mountain to the beach below. Once both teammates landed on the beach, they were given their next clue. In Seek Out, teams had to travel down to the same beach and use a metal detector to find their next clue buried somewhere in the sand. After the Detour, teams had to travel by bus to Foz do Iguaçu and then drive to the Macuco Safari Dock, where they found their next clue. In this season's first Roadblock, one team member had to use a map to direct a speedboat driver to Iguaçu Falls. There, they had to spot the route marker at the top of a rock formation, retrieve their next clue, and head back to the dock. After the Roadblock, teams had to check in at the Pit Stop in a nearby jungle camp.
Leg 3 (Brazil → South Africa)
Episode 3: "My Alarm Clock Didn't Go Off!" (March 20, 2002) Eliminated: Peggy and Claire Locations Iguaçu National Park (Trilha das Bananeiras – Jungle Camp) Foz do Iguaçu → Cape Town, South Africa Cape Town → Robben Island Robben Island (Maximum Security Prison) Robben Island → Cape Town Kalk Bay (Kalk Bay Harbour) Kalk Bay → Cape Town Cape Town (Langa – Paradise Hair Salon) Stellenbosch (Lanzerac Manor) Episode summary At the start of this leg, teams were instructed to fly to Cape Town, South Africa. Once there, teams had to take a ferry to Robben Island and find their next clue in Nelson Mandela's prison cell. Teams then had to travel to Kalk Bay Harbour to find their next clue. This leg's Detour was a choice between Dance and Deliver. In Dance, teams had to perform a gumboot dance with a local troupe until they made R25 (roughly $1.40) in tips, which they could exchange for their next clue. In Deliver, teams had to carry fish from a boat and transfer them to a set of scales until they had to receive their next clue. After the Detour, teams had to travel by train to Langa Township and find their next clue at the Paradise Hair Salon. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to search through Langa Township and buy a box of Epsom salts and a "Smiley" (a roasted sheep's head). They then had to deliver the Smiley as an offering to Ndaba Sangoma, who made a potion out of the salts that the racer had to drink to receive the next clue, which directed them to the Pit Stop: Lanzerac Manor in Stellenbosch. Additional note Peggy and Claire flew from Brazil to South Africa via New York City and London, and arrived in Cape Town a full day after all of the other teams. Instead of completing all of the tasks in the leg, they received instructions at Robben Island to go directly to the Pit Stop for elimination.
Leg 4 (South Africa → Namibia)
Episode 4: "This Game Is About Minutes" (March 27, 2002) Eliminated: Shola and Doyin Locations Stellenbosch (Lanzerac Manor)